In a world of fairy tales turned nightmares, GrimKeep is a roguelite dice-builder that challenges you to master both luck and strategy.
Collect powerful relics, forge unstoppable synergies, and battle through a city consumed by darkness.
The city is lost. From the castle at its center an evil spreads, changing everyone into wretched parodies of life. Desolate streets infested with monsters, perpetually dark skies threaten to spread across the land.
Be the hero, reach the GrimKeep and end the source of evil; the Princess.
Set in a grimdark fantasy world inspired by fairy tales and Lovecraftian horrors, GrimKeep is a dice-builder strategy game where items, synergies, and skill determine your survival.
Every run, you'll gather powerful items, creating devastating combos that turn the tide of battle.
It might take many attempts, but each will unlock new playable characters, items and encounters, leading to stronger builds, better strategies, and higher stakes.
Build devastating synergies and dice combinations to overcome monstrous foes.
Multiple playable characters with unique abilities.
New encounters and challenges with each run.
Different experiences every time!
Master the dice. Adapt your strategy. Break the curse.
GrimKeep is built by a small, passionate team at Resolution Games.
We love what we’re making and want to share the journey with you, tweaking, improving, and shaping the game together.
Join us as we bring this dark fantasy world to life!
Your choices. Your fate. Your GrimKeep.
A few words about style and inspiration
\nTL;DR: We like comic books!
One thing we\'ve heard a lot about GrimKeep is \"That reminds me of \\[most commonly Darkest Dungeon]\". If you\'re working in any visual arts field, you\'re probably used to this. Brains are pattern matching machines, and when presented with stimuli, it will spit out the closest or sometimes most recent match it has. Sometimes to hilariously off-the-mark comparisons!
So, what was the inspiration for the art style in GrimKeep?
The truth is that the end result is an amalgamation of many things. Let\'s break it down:
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Most obvious - the drawing style
Once we had settled that it needed to be a 2.5D game, we intended to explore various styles, but one of the first tests was based on older fantasy comics like \"Savage Sword of Conan\" and others from that era. The brightest shining artist from that group, is John Buscema, although many greats have illustrated comics in that era and style.
[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/45576167/57dc9c6c7ed6296d5ef2486ce9b2ac56dfb77b94.png\"][/img]
Immediately after doing the first test drawings inspired by this style, we felt that it was 100% right for us, so we just stuck with it. Quick not about inspiration; we\'re not putting a lot of energy into copying exactly how these comic book greats drew. We know we\'re not the crme de la crme of that style. It\'s a starting point, and we\'re using some of their techniques, but we\'re our own artists, and we\'re using different tools and have different constraints. So apologies to Mr Buscema and his colleagues for the blasphemies we commit! :)
\n[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/45576167/bf853977e5a8bbab2752692d79b644d3625b267f.png\"][/img]
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The colors and values
Something that took a bit longer to settle on was which colors and values (how light or dark it is). In the beginning there were a lot of reds in the drawings and the UI. But as we were fleshing out what kind of world the game takes place in, it wasn\'t quite right. We eventually settled on unhealthy greens, greys, and browns. The greens represent the eldritch, the lovecraft-esque monstrosities. The greys and browns represent the dystopian reality of a world without hope. Also, grey is a backdrop color, something that lets other more saturated colors draw the attention of the viewer. Browns are low saturation orange and red, which is complementary to green. You could almost say that it\'s basically a green game, and the rest is just supporting those greens.\n
We do allow ourselves to use any color we want for highlights, accents and color pops, but the general impression should be towards greens. Art direction is to a large degree self-imposed restrictions, and so far, we\'re pretty pleased with the ones we\'ve picked.
\n[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/45576167/c3c7b4837706ace1200d3b039f1db5482062364b.png\"][/img]
There\'s also values. I guess it\'s pretty clear that GrimKeep is a dark game. Not just in setting and theme, but also in value. It\'s probably no surprise that we\'d avoid brightness and strong colors in a dystopic setting like ours. But finding the right balance have taken some doing. It also forced David to implement Gamma settings very early in the project. We have had a few awkward presentations where a screenshot that looks great on a high quality screen in a shaded room, apparently becomes just a dark grey square on a projector in a lit room!
Finally, all these 2D assets are all put together in a 3D scene in Unity. Here we have some tools at our disposal that the comic book artists of the 70s and 80s didn\'t have. We (mostly Samuel to be fair) add lights, effects, and some post processing. These are very nice things to have, that adds life to what is essentially still images.
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User Interface
The UI has its own style, separate from the art. It took many iterations to settle on it. We tried to make it in the same drawn style. We tried several versions of highly rendered material-based elements. Nothing really clicked until in a fit of inspired frustration, Henrik did a quick test with very flat UI elements, focusing on the color, values, silhouette and dropshadows. \n\nMost of the effort goes into tweaking and testing the values of the individual elements, to make sure it is in its right place in the \"attention hierarchy\". UI needs to be clear, readable, and obvious most of the time, but aesthetically it should not overpower the art, the environments, the characters. \nEvery screen is a delicate balance act of what draws the attention of the viewer, and in what order.
[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/45576167/70aeed9b933a0ea99d5a97de23674e29465beced.png\"][/img]
Item icons
Another major part of GrimKeep is the \"items\" that you equip on your journey. \nThese are drawn similarly to how we draw the characters, but with a bigger focus on readability and them fitting neatly into the item slots. They could represent any object, which can present a challenge. In particular long and thin items like a sword or spear, would be at very small scale if you\'re trying to fit them into a small square. With these we take some liberties, and show the most significant part only. [img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/45576167/6893182b07d57967705cd8c7c50542099762eba0.png\"][/img]
See this in action
If you\'re curious, on our various socials we regularly post timelapses of the artists drawing. \nCheck them out on Youtube, Tiktok, Instagram or Bluesky.
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In GrimKeep you will encounter several enemies with different sizes and abilities. \n\nIn this video we focus on Taurus, an enemy designed specifically to introduce the \"Charge Up\" ability, \nwhere he skips a turn but his next attack will deal a huge blow. \n
There will be several playable characters in GrimKeep, each with their own abilities and playstyle. \n\nTheyre loosely based on characters from the old Grimm fairytales reimagined through a darker, Lovecraftian lens. \n\nCheck out our take on Rapunzel.\n
GrimKeep will have a shop you can find along the way
where you\'ll be able to pay for items with both gold and blood
But the question that lingers is
How did the shopkeeper get there?
How did he survive the countless enemies along the path?
And most of all ... why does he need my blood?
\nHope you enjoy the video, and let us know what youd like to see next!
Were back!
Sorry for the radio silence \n
Before summer vacation, our goal was to build a vertical slice of GrimKeep, basically a small, playable demo that shows every key part of the game, like a cake slice that lets you see all the layers. Its enough to feel how the game really plays so we can test things and see what needs tweaking.\n
[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/45576167/6b680e7374b18f55f85ba97a448ce528ec95569f.png\"][/img]To make that happen, we paused socials and devlogs to put all our energy into development. Were a small team, so even small tasks have to be carefully prioritized.
How did it go?
We delivered an internal vertical slice! \nIt was tight, we cut a few small features and barely had time to test and balance everything, but we got it in peoples hands.
[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/45576167/ce4f7110889e6c4adcc0aef86ed8df92980bae38.jpg\"][/img]
About 30 folks at Resolution Games played it, and in August we interviewed most of them. \nThe feedback was encouraging, especially from fans of deckbuilder roguelites.\n\nWe also got lots of useful suggestions. \nOne big takeaway: our opening was a bit too simple for players familiar with card-based games. \nSo now GrimKeep is more generous with the good stuff early, and our playable characters have more distinctive abilities.
\nOverall, the foundation feels solid. \nWhat we need most before launch is more content and polish, right on plan.
Digging deeper into the core game
GrimKeeps core loop is combat with dice-and-combos. \nYou deal damage using dice points and poker/Yatzy-style combinations. On top of that, you build an inventory of items that trigger under certain conditions and chain together for big payoffs. \nThe long-term fun comes from creating builds where those items reliably trigger and synergize.\n\n[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/45576167/7dc32511de27b26b391368ae2c164988372256d4.jpg\"][/img]
Right now, were tuning that core so the game feels more rewarding even before youve assembled a strong item set, and in those moments when the dice dont fire the way you want. \n\nResolution believes in GrimKeep, and were doubling down to make it the best it can be.\n
Stay tuned, once these tweaks land, were excited to start sharing gameplay videos
Lets talk about the cast of GrimKeep!
In this update, were diving into the kinds of characters youll meet: heroes, villains, and the unfortunate folks in between.
In GrimKeep, theres a clear divide between the good guys and the bad guys. No grey morality or narrative twists to wrestle with, just a classic, grim showdown between light and dark. That doesnt mean our characters are shallow, though. Each one carries weight, both in story and gameplay.
Were breaking this down into three main categories:
- Player Characters
- Non-Player Characters (NPCs)
- Enemies
Player Characters
Lore
Our playable heroes are reimaginings of famous Brothers Grimm fairy tale characters, now older, wearier, and shaped by years of hardship since their original tales ended.They might go by new names, and many carry the emotional or physical scars of whats happened since "happily ever after."
We're keeping the narrative light, but meaningful. Think iceberg storytelling, whats above the surface is just a glimpse, with more implied beneath. Through visual design, item descriptions, and snatches of dialogue, youll get hints of a life lived.
Sketches and final art of the character portrait of Red
Mechanics
Mechanically, our player characters are designed to:- Be distinct enough to encourage trying multiple.
- Be easy to pick up (especially early on).
- Allow flexibility in playstyle.
- A single defining stat: Health.
- A pre-equipped item (potentially).
- Slight variations in point values from dice combos.
Non-Player Characters (NPCs)
This is less of a traditional category. What were calling NPCs are really Encounters, weird and sometimes dangerous interactions you'll find across the city.
Lore
Some civilians are still out there, hiding, surviving, and maybe a little... off. They're probably not the friendly neighborhood type anymore, but talking to them might reveal glimpses into the strange world of GrimKeep.Mechanics
These NPCs show up through encounter events where you'll be offered choices, some straightforward, others more of a gamble. Think dialogue options or event cards. Theres no guarantee these situations will go in your favor. GrimKeep isnt a world where good intentions always lead to good outcomes.Enemies
Lore
Something foul seeps out from Castle GrimKeep. It warps everything, humans, animals, even objects. Theres no plan behind the madness. Just cruel, senseless transformation.Enemies in GrimKeep are grotesque parodies of their former selves. A butcher might become a hulking beast wielding meat cleavers; a seamstress may stitch herself into something monstrous. And when they kill, they drag their victims back to the castle.
Link to the making of video
Mechanics
Youll face these enemies in turn-based combat. Here's how that works:- You attack using dice combos and item synergies.
- Each enemy has a set of standard actions, like attack, defend, or unique abilities.
- Before you act, you'll get a hint about their next move, letting you adjust your strategy.
Thats it for now on characters in GrimKeep!
Were excited to show more soon, especially once we can reveal how all of this plays out in the game.
[h2]Thanks for sticking with us.
Stay tuned for our next devlog and don't forget to WISHLIST![/h2]
Developing the art of GrimKeep
Early stages
Initially the GrimKeep project existed only as a concept of game mechanics; the idea of using dice and yatzy/poker combos as a start and a core, and building on it with "items". The simplicity of the dice would be a super-approachable start for everyone, with minimal need for tutorials. The items would build depth and variation over time and allow us to create endless combinations and cool synergies.
There was also a feeling that it was a fantasy game in general, but before any art was produced, it wasn't really decided. The first prototype was just boxes, programmer art, and pictures of characters borrowed from our other games.
Goals
It's a well kept secret that for smaller scale productions, art choices are not just about what would be cool. One of the more difficult questions is about budget. The cost of art is a bit like asking "how long is a string". There's no upper limit to how much money and time you could spend on art, and there's barely any lower limit either.
Before a project like this is greenlit, you will generally not have a solid idea of the budgets. So in our case, once Henrik got involved to think about the art production needs, it was natural to approach this defensively, with the assumption that the budget would be fairly limited.
This is why in the second prototype, we did some exploration with some prototype 3D assets from the very talented Kay Lousberg .
Almost all of Resolution's games are 3D. It's a natural fit for our XR focus areas, but we needed a ton of enemies, characters, and environment assets. That presented a problem for our very small team. The assets needed to look coherent and uniform, and we needed to be able to make more in the same style.
The Cool
Here's where the "cool" came into play. Once we had assembled a test scene, it was pretty clear that it wasn't right for us. The style was approachable and cute, but it wasn't really what we wanted, we needed something more serious. So we started over.
But the thing about "serious" is that it tends to be much more costly. A realistic, or semi-realistic 3D character is likely to take a lot more time for a 3D artist to model. The answer make it 2D! Or rather as it evolved; 2.5D. I.e. two-dimensional pictures, but placed in a 3D environment!
But to be honest the thing that tip the needle was that this approach seemed way more fun and exciting for us to produce.
What Fantasy?
Ok, so we're doing fantasy. It's the natural thing when you need hundreds of items that do various, sometimes abstract things rules-wise. Magic and all, you know? But... high fantasy? low fantasy? punky fantasy? Tons of overlapping flavors to pick from. We already have Demeo, one of Resolution's biggest titles. Demeo is a straight-shooting classic roleplaying fantasy game for the most part. It's steeped in nostalgia, and has versions of classic fantasy tropes all over. The first sketches for the 2.5D art had a decidedly Conan-esque aesthetic, as if taken directly from a John Buscema Conan comic book. It didn't feel quite right either, but the style itself, the line work and colors, looked like it would only need a slight push, and different types of characters to become something darker.
We're all immersed in the wider game scene, so I'm sure the recent surge in soulslikes has taken hold in our minds. It led us here, to this question: "Can you have an easy-to-pick-up dice game, but dress it in serious, brooding grimdark clothes?" Well, let's find out!
GrimKeep wants to be a world of odd and horrific monsters, and to give it legs to stand on creatively, we took inspiration from two sources; Lovecraftian Mythos, and fairy tales. Grimm's fairytales of course. It's not lore accurate Cthulhu per se, but uses the same ideas of ancient eldritch demon-gods, invading a peaceful world. These monsters represent the challenge, the enemy. The fairytales represent the good, our protagonists. Imagine this post-apocalyptic world, where characters from classic fairytales are real. Real legendary characters, but they're not living happily ever after. They're struggling through this dark world, fighting to survive with the rest of humanity. The Little Red Riding Hood might as well have experienced the incident with grandma and the wolf as a child, but that is a pale memory now. Now that she is older, she doesn't skip through the forest with a basket of goodies. She goes by the name Red, stalking a city of monsters, sword at the ready, eager for vengeance.
[First sketch for the current hero art]
Stay tuned, more about making the art in future devlogs!
Hi and welcome to the first ever GrimKeep Devlog!
Its been wondrous seeing the first reactions to this game of Dice and Darkness that were making. The biggest question has been Whats a dice-builder?, which well try to answer here. But first, a brief introduction and backstory!
The Idea
At Resolution, we have an event called Gameplay Shares where anyone is welcome to pitch an idea or talk about something they are passionate about. In one of these events we presented the idea of a dice game with simple Yatch combos at its core with collectible items that are influenced by those dice combos. The idea resonated with a lot of us, and a few weeks later, we started on a prototype, and the idea just keeps growing stronger in our minds!
The Team
The GrimKeep, team consists of only two people! But also not really. At Resolution we have an extensive team of specialists that can be called into teams as needed. Besides the core team of Henrik and David, a bunch of others will make appearances during the development.
So who are we then?
Hi, we're Henrik Pettersson and David Filipe!
Henrik, Resolution's Studio Art Director, has been a full-time game developer since 1999, and is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, with roots in visual arts.
David is an indie game aficionado, a regular game jammer and a game programmer with vast experience with all kinds of platforms.
The heck is a Dice-Builder?!
Just as a deck-builder, a dice-builder is a game where you manage a set of cards to optimize the power you get out of it, itd make sense to assume that a dice-builder is about managing a set of dice to the same end.
In our case that is a half-truth probably. While you could imagine a game where all the little special rules are on the dice, thats not really what were doing. Dice arent natural holders of rule texts in the same way cards are. So weve opted for a normal set of six-sided dice for the start of the game, and what you primarily manage are Items that react to the dice results, but there will be some choices to make with the dice as well over the course of a game.
If youre already familiar with deck-builders and rogue-likes, a lot of GrimKeep will be known to you. Were putting dice-rolling at the center of it, and going all in.
This is actually one of the things were most curious about; how will it feel to take an approachable puzzle game core, and apply it to a proper nerdy theme that takes itself way too seriously?! Another strength is that the game can start simple, as everyone knows yatzy/poker combinations, and over time, the game grows in complexity and depth.
Testing out our early prototype on Steam Deck!
We aim to make GrimKeep enjoyable for everyone, whether they have just 10 minutes during their commute or want to immerse themselves for hundreds of hours. GrimKeep should be fun for both of these.
Stick around, and well find out!
Minimum Setup
- OS: TBD
- Processor: TBDMemory: TBD MB RAM
- Memory: TBD MB RAM
- Graphics: TBD
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